5 Things You Need to Keep Your Kids Safe in the Sun

Whitsun weekend may not bring exactly the weather you’re hoping for (unless you like cool and cloudy), but here is hoping that a summer of long sunny days is approaching and with it the need to protect our children’s delicate and precious skin. It is possible to enjoy summer and create gorgeous memories without putting them at risk.

Here are the five most important weapons in my Sun Safe arsenal.

1. Solar Buddies

High-factor sun cream is an aåbsolute must in summer but even though I put it on in the morning, I worry that it has worn off by lunch time. Enter Solar Buddies – a brilliant new product developed by mums who wanted their kids to be able to apply their own sun cream at school. It’s refillable so you can use your choice of cream, and because it’s been designed with small hands in mind you won’t have to worry about them not being able to put it on correctly.

2. Sun Cream

Did you know that sun cream loses its effectiveness over time? I tend to get through a bottle a year anyway, but the NHS recommends storing it somewhere cool and dark and replacing it every two to three years. Advice from the British Skin Foundation is to keep children out of direct sunlight and use a broad spectrum sun cream that is at least SPF30 and has been applied 20 minutes before going outside. One of my favourites is Boots’ Soltan Baby Cream SPF50+ which is hypoallergenic and unscented. My friend’s son suffers from eczema and she swears by Jason Sunbrellas Kids Natural Sunblock SPF45 for her family.

This is a great post from Space in my Case to help with the battles that will undoubedly occur when you have to put the cream on….

Sunsuits are more effective at protecting your child from sunburn than cotton clothing as the fabric has a tighter weave that blocks more harmful rays. Look for a sunsuit which has a high UPF protection, such as the ones at JoJo Maman Bebe which are 50+, and which conforms to British Safety Standards *sorry I know that bit is boring, but….*. Pair it with a cute matching flap sun hat to shade their face, ears, and neck.

5. Sunglasses

Overexposure to UV rays in childhood can lead to eye conditions like macular degeneration and cataracts later in life. Children are also susceptible to retinal damage. You can buy glasses with 100% UV protection from places like Asda and Tesco, though for babies and toddlers it’s worth spending a little more on styles like Baby Banz, which have shatter resistant lenses and a neoprene band to help stop them slipping off.

As we all know, it isn’t always possible or practical to adhere to the official advice of avoiding direct sunlight between the hours of 11am and 2pm, but using these five things will ensure your child gets a good level of protection short of staying inside. Remember to give them regular drinks of cold water as well, to help prevent dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Do check the suncream you have as well, so you know when you need to re-apply it.

Do you have any practical tips for the sunshine? I am just hoping that we actually get to see it sometime soon!

About The Author

Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, website editor and regular guest on Spanners BBC Cambridgeshire radio show. Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. She's happy to chat on anything parenting. She is also a part-time digital marketing analyst with Channel Mum. She can often be found hanging about on social media, and trying to avoid stepping on the Lego her kids keep leaving lying around.

It’s a great blog for the protection of kids. Especially, the eye protection is important for any kid who spends time outside. Babies ought to always wear sun shades when they are outside, in the work of the warm weather months.

Playing in the summer sun can be incredibly enjoyable, especially if you live in a colder climate, but it can be incredibly dangerous as well if you don’t take the proper precautions. Now that my kids are older, the like to play out in the sun, however, I’m worried about them getting a sun burn and absorbing harmful UV rays. You mentioned using a shade sail to keep the sun off of them while they play. Do you know what the largest shade sail size is? I would like a large one, so that they still have room to roam in the shade.

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About Me

Helen Neale

Helen is a mum to two, digital marketer and website editor. She founded KiddyCharts in 2011 to enable her to work from home.

KiddyCharts is passionate about offering kids and parents its resources for FREE. KiddyCharts continues to make this possible because the site works with big family brands to promote relevant products to their audience.

Helen works part-time as a digital marketing analyst with Channel Mum.

Spare time is mostly spent trying to avoid stepping on the Lego her kids keep leaving lying around.